Dad, 29, jailed for selling ‘dodgy Firesticks’ streaming Premier League says he was ‘helping poor like Robin Hood’
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A DAD-of-two who was jailed for selling "dodgy" Firesticks that streamed Premier League matches said he was "helping the poor like Robin hood".
Jonathan Edge, 29, from Liverpool, was remanded in custody at the end of last month and sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.
He has been jailed for three years and four months, as confirmed by the Premier League.
This includes a separate sentence for accessing and viewing the content he supplied.
Relying on advertising through Facebook posts and word-of-mouth recommendations, Edge ran a service uploading illegal services on to Firestick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments at his home.
Edge was warned on several occasions to stop, but continued to upload the illegal material.
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Meanwhile, his own use of the unauthorised service was treated as a distinct crime in itself.
Julian Nutter, defending, argued Edge was somewhat acting as a "Robin Hood" figure by giving people who would struggle to afford a Sky subscription access to the games.
Mr Nutter said: "Whether or not he made a significant profit is an issue which is raised.
"The point should be made on his behalf that the people who would buy his products would not be people who are likely to have the money to buy a Sky subscription."
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But the judge stressed how legitimate subscribers are victims of these fraudulent operations and therefore their impact goes beyond that experienced by the broadcast industry.
The prosecution was undertaken by the Premier League and was supported by a number of organisations, including FACT and Merseyside Police.
Kevin Plumb, Premier League General Counsel, said: “The significant sentence handed down to the individual involved once again serves to highlight the severity of his actions and we thank Merseyside Police for their support throughout the case.
“We will continue to pursue legal action against those supplying unauthorised access to Premier League football, regardless of the scale or mode of operation. Ignoring warnings to stop only served to make the consequences worse for the individual.
“The selling of broadcast rights supports the Premier League’s industry-leading financial contribution to the whole football pyramid and we’re pleased that the courts have once again recognised the importance of safeguarding these rights with the outcome of this case.
"No matter the scale, we will continue to protect these rights by carrying out investigations and prosecuting illegal operators at every level.”
Detective Sergeant Steve Frame from Merseyside Police said: "Merseyside Police is committed to working in collaboration to investigate intellectual property theft and we welcome today’s sentence handed to Edge.
“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong, and this outcome should serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken.”
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And Keiron Sharp, CEO of FACT, added: “FACT are committed to investigating and acting against IP crime.
"Offenders should be aware that regardless of their level of operation or advertising methods, including word-of-mouth or platforms like Facebook, creating an illegal business for the purposes of selling stolen content to others will be investigated by the police, resulting in sentences such as the one given today. "
Why you shouldn't use 'jailbroken' Fire Sticks
When an Amazon Fire Stick is ‘jailbroken’, it means a third-party media server software has been installed on it.
The software most commonly used on Fire Sticks is called Kodi.
It can grant users unrestricted access to new features and apps the normal version of the device wouldn't allow – but it is not legal to use in the UK.
The government outlined in 2017 that adapted Amazon Fire sticks and so-called ‘Kodi’ TV boxes were illegal.
This is because they breach intellectual property laws in not paying for the media content being watched.
“These devices are legal when used to watch legitimate, free to air, content,” the government said at the time.
“They become illegal once they are adapted to stream illicit content, for example TV programmes, films and subscription sports channels without paying the appropriate subscriptions.”
If users are watching content that would usually be free, however, then they would not be breaking any laws.